Vanitas – Vanitatum – Omnia Vanitas

Happy New Year!!!

Let’s get this new year off to a good start and recognize all the hard work we have been doing to keep the country in good health. I appreciate that Michelle Obama made one of her goals to reduce childhood obesity and stop food desserts. Those are areas where individuals find it hard to get fresh produce from anywhere closer than 2 miles. They chose this distance because if you don’t have a car, then it represents a far way to make regular trips for healthy food. Thus increasing the likelihood that you will eat less healthily!!!

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Due to efforts like hers and a more general awareness recent studies have shown American healthy quality is rising dramatically. HHS has released a new report showing how Americans’ health has changed dramatically for the better over the past 50 years, with men and women both living longer and fewer babies dying in infancy.

Among the key findings of the report:

During the past half-century, death rates among children and adults up to age 24 were cut in half. Mortality among adults 25-64 fell nearly as much, and dropped among those 65 and older by a third.

In 2000, Americans enjoyed the longest life expectancy in US history—almost 77 years (74 for men and 80 for women). A century earlier, life expectancy was 48 for men and 51 for women.

The infant mortality rate—deaths before the first birthday—has plummeted 75% since 1950. It dropped to a record low of 6.9 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000, down from 7.1 the year before.

Men and women who reach age 65 now live, on average, to age 81 and 84 respectively.

More than 40% of adults were smokers in 1965, compared to 23% in 2000. Those without a high school education were still almost three times more likely to smoke cigarettes than college graduates were.

And if you want to find some interesting info on social media then HHS has you covered. Jump over to their twitter to see the things they are sharing there. I find searching their feed can often serve me better than trying to do a search on their actual website. Their HHS twitter is here.

And one last HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! Let’s get this year off to a good start and get serious about our fitness!